Nick Knight Speaks

PHOTOGRAPHER Nick Knight has shot some of the world's most beautiful people, created some of fashion's most iconic images and recently opened the SHOWstudio shop in London; selling props from legendary shoots and fashion shows (read about the venture here).

VOGUE.COM caught up with Nick Knight to quiz him on props, photography and changing the face of beauty.

ON PROPS - "I think it was during the Pirelli calendar shoot in 2003 that I really became obsessed with props. The sets were designed by Gideon Ponte – and the impact was just phenomenal."

Nick Knight

ON SHOWstudio SHOP - "We wanted to open the shop, firstly because it seems such a shame that all these beautiful creations would end up in a skip, but also because currently set designers occupy a strange place..."

Nick Knight

ON SHOWstudio SHOP - "They are almost seen as tradespeople – but what they do is so incredible, they are so important to the success of a shoot."

Nick Knight

ON SHOWstudio SHOP - "We have a Union Jack, customised by John Galliano; oversized cherries and a minaturised greenhouse from a Tim Walker shoot; papier mache heads created by Michael Howell for a Dior show; a huge illuminated dollar sign and a stuffed Bengal tiger."

Nick Knight

ON SHOWstudio SHOP - "The tiger is definitely the most impressive piece from the collection, it’s hard to choose a favourite, but the tiger is the one people always ask about. It was for a Puma shoot with Alexander McQueen – which he art directed."

Nick Knight

ON SHOWstudio SHOP - "The stuffed tiger was there as a back-up, because we had a real tiger too but weren’t sure how it would behave. We did end up using the stuffed one for a few shots."

Nick Knight

ON PROPS - "I think it is important to recognise set designers as artists, that is part of what interested me about opening the shop."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "An ideal subject for me, first and foremost, has to enjoy having their picture taken..."

Cindy Crawford, photographed by Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "If you get someone who is super-enthusiastic and happy in front of the camera that makes my job much easier..."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "But if you hate having your picture taken, then right away I have to seduce you to get the shot and that’s more difficult."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "I see people a lot who are in the public eye but who aren’t models - and they are often much less comfortable than you would imagine in front of the camera."

Sienna Miller, photographed by Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "I shot Cheryl Cole last week and, although she is photographed all the time by the paparazzi, she is not in front of the camera for a shoot in the same way as professional models are – she is less used to the process."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "Cheryl was great to work with, though - I was shooting the cover for her new album. She is incredibly beautiful - it is just a different kind of shoot with a model who is experienced."

Cindy Crawford, photographed by Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "I could never choose a favourite shoot, or a favourite subject I have worked with. It would be like choosing my favourite child!"

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "I think it is difficult to pinpoint my favourite shoot ever. Generally the shoots that stick in my mind are ones that had an incredible outcome; like the shoot Lee McQueen and I did for Dazed & Confused (exploring disability and fashion), or the Sara Morrison shoot for Vogue in 1997."

Nick Knight

ON CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES - "Alexandra Shulman made the very brave decision to run the 1997 Sara Morrison shoot in Vogue without a feature article – just as a fashion shoot starring a plus-size model..."

Nick Knight

ON CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES - "These images help change the parameters of beauty - and as a photographer that is so important."

Beth Ditto, photographed by Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "I don’t really know how I would describe my style, I think that is something that’s very difficult to do; to step away from your work enough to examine it. I’m sure I do have a style in my work, but it’s not something you set out to do."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "I love taking photographs but I have believed for a long time that film is the new medium in fashion imagery."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "Clothes are designed to be seen in movement – and the development of film and fashion is so important."

Nick Knight

ON PHOTOGRAPHY - "There are many photographers whose work I respect but if I had to choose one person to photograph me, it would be Bruce Weber."